Johnny Oduya
| birth_place = Stockholm, Sweden | draft = 221st overall | draft_year = 2001 | draft_team = Washington Capitals | career_start = 1999 }} Johnny Oduya (born David Johnny Oduya on October 1, 1981) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman of partial Kenyan descent who currently is an unrestricted free agent. Playing Career Johnny's first club was Hammarby IF, where he played as a junior. In 2000 at the age of 19, he moved to North America to play in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He spent one season in North America, splitting time between Victoriaville Tigres and Moncton Wildcats. After moving back to Sweden, he played two seasons with Hammarby's pro-team in HockeyAllsvenskan before signing a contract with Djurgårdens IF in the Swedish Elitserien. During the two seasons he spent with the team, Johnny was known as an aggressive defenceman and a tough guy. At times, he fought with opposition players and received loads of penalty minutes. However, he was also a very dependable player and played regularly in the Swedish national team during the Euro Hockey Tour. In the 2005–06 season after he had been dismissed by the NHL team Washington Capitals, Johnny moved to another Swedish team, Frölunda HC. While in Frölunda, he played as a more offensive defenceman scoring eight goals and eleven assists. The following season, Johnny signed with the New Jersey Devils in the NHL. Many expected him to be a minor league player who potentially would get a brief stint or two in the NHL. When several of the Devils' defenders were injured, he got a spot in the lineup. He played surprisingly well in the NHL, sometimes playing around twenty minutes a game. Johnny played in virtually every Devils game that season except for a few that he missed due to a mid-season injury. However in the playoffs, he wasn't even at the bench when the Devils were defeated in the second round. The reason for Johnny being benched was mostly due to Andy Greene who stepped right into the lineup out of college. Johnny was named to the 2010 Winter Olympics as a member of the Swedish men's ice hockey team. On February 4, 2010, he was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers along with Niclas Bergfors, Patrice Cormier and a 1st round draft pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft for Ilya Kovalchuk and Anssi Salmela. On February 27, 2012, Johnny was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for a 2nd round pick and a 3rd round pick in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. In October of 2012 during the 2012–13 NHL lockout, he traveled to Bangkok, Thailand to play for the local team the Flying Farangs in the 18th Annual "Land of Smiles" Hockey tournament. He carried his team to the championship against Abu-Dhabi and helped bring home Bangkok's first title in tournament history. In June of 2013, Johnny won his first Stanley Cup ring with the Chicago Blackhawks who defeated the Boston Bruins in six games during the Stanley Cup Finals. On June 15, 2015, he won his second Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks. After four seasons with the Blackhawks, Johnny left the team as a free agent and signed a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars on July 15, 2015. On February 28, 2017 (during the final year of his contract with the Stars in the 2016–17 season, he was traded back to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Mark McNeill and a conditional fourth round draft pick. Career Statistics Regular season and playoffs International Sweden }} Personal Life Johnny is the younger brother of the late Fredrik Oduya, who was a former NHL draftee. In the summer of 2011, Frederik passed away in a motorcycle accident. His father's surname Oduya was from Kenya (which belonged to the ethnic group of Luo). He married a Swedish woman and had two sons. Category:1981 births Category:Chicago Blackhawks players Category:Atlanta Thrashers players Category:Winnipeg Jets players Category:Djurgårdens IF Hockey players Category:New Jersey Devils players Category:Washington Capitals draft picks Category:Dallas Stars players Category:Stanley Cup champions Category:Swedish ice hockey players